Excess subsurface water creates numerous problems for agriculture land including less than optimal growing conditions for crops and reduced access to cropland by farm equipment due to limited traction. One technique for removing excess subsurface water is to install tile drainage. Tile drainage can take a variety of forms, for example, polyethylene corrugated drainage pipe. The tile drainage is installed below the surface of the land and collects and drains excess subsurface water. By removing the excess subsurface water, the water table is lowered to an optimal level for growing the desired crops and to provide greater access to the land by farm equipment.
Before tile drainage is installed in an area with excess subsurface water, traction for farm equipment is generally limited. As a result, tile drainage is often installed using a tracked vehicle pulling a tile plow. The tracked vehicle pulls the tile plow to create a ditch to a desired depth. As the tile plow creates the ditch, the tile drainage is installed in the ditch.
However, because of the excess subsurface water and the significant weight of the tile plow, even tracked vehicles often experience limited traction when installing the tile drainage. Traction problems are particularly acute when a tracked vehicle needs to turn for example, to follow the contour of the field where the drainage tile is being installed. When relying solely on its differential steering to turn, a tracked vehicle will often have to either slow down or get stuck and have to raise the tile plow in order to regain traction. In either case, the limited traction creates significant inefficiencies and delays in installing tile drainage.
In addition, farm operators typically require tile drains to be installed precisely in terms of both depth and location. In particular, tile drains are installed using tracked vehicles with onboard positioning equipment, such as a global navigation satellite system receiver and/or automated steering system. Therefore, a tracked vehicle used to install tile drainage must be able to make precise turning adjustments that its differential steering often cannot provide in limited traction environments.
Accordingly, there is a need for control systems to enable more precise turning for tracked vehicles pulling a dragged implement such as a tile plow.